Ukraine’s parliament partially approves new Cabinet

Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada (parliament) has approved the appointment of most members of the new Cabinet of Ministers, leaving the positions of defence minister and foreign minister vacant for now.

A total of 264 lawmakers voted in favour of the appointments, while 15 voted against, 19 abstained, and 20 did not participate in the vote, Caliber.Az reports.

On July 14, the parliament dismissed Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko and her entire government. Earlier on July 16, lawmakers approved the appointment of Serhii Koretskyi, formerly the head of Naftogaz, as the country’s new prime minister.

Koretskyi submitted a package of 16 ministerial nominees to parliament. The positions of defence minister and foreign minister were excluded, as candidates for those posts must be nominated directly by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

According to the list published by lawmakers and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Denys Shmyhal will retain his position as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, while Serhii Marchenko will remain finance minister and Tetiana Berezhna will continue as culture minister.

Health Minister Viktor Liashko and Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi also retained their posts in the new government lineup.

By Jeyhun Aghazada